Til' Death Do We Part
by WWW-squeaky-darthplaigus-71792
Summary: Trequel to When the Cradle Falls and Nothing But Miles. MUST READ THOSE FIRST! What will happen to the gang now that they are all there, with no one left to try and find them. Will the new kids Chris kidnaps help them? Will they escape Chris?A must read!
1. Several Months Later

_A/N: For those of you who read my previous post of the third book in the Irreplaceable Father Series, even though this has very similar bits and the same title, please look upon this as a new fanfiction, separate from the other. Thank you very much. For those of you who haven't read When the Cradle Falls, or Nothing But Miles, please do so, or else none of this will make sense. The title for this fanfiction is to be credited to my good friend 0x0xLOVE and WARx0x0 . Though that phrase is not hers, she gave me the idea to use it. _

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_DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN ANY ASPECT OF THE SUITE LIFE OF ZACK AND CODY(CHARACTERS, SETTINGS, THOUGHTS, STORY LINES, PLOTS, NAMES, ETC.) !!!!!!!! I DO OWN THE CHARACTERS OF LISA LEONHARD, AND ERIKA LEONHARD, AND BONNIE BOYDZ, AND CHRIS BOYDZ! THANK YOU VERY MUCH!_

_www-squeaky-darthplaigus_

Chapter 1:

_Several Months Later_

Lisa switched on the small lamp on her desk and removed her necklace. On the end of it was a key. She slid the key into one of the desk drawers, and listened for the click. She opened the drawer and pulled out a book with a hard wooden cover. She set it in front of her on the desk. Then, she opened a small jewelry box, and pulled out another key. This time, she slid it into the lock that held the wooden covered book closed. She removed the lock, and opened the book to a page that had been bookmarked. After removing the bookmark, she pulled the cap off her blue pen, and began to write.

_Dear Journal, January 3, 2007_

_I have_

Suddenly, Lisa heard the front door open. Lisa sighed. She closed the diary, put the pen back in the holder, re-locked the journal, placed it back in the drawer, and re-locked the drawer. She placed the necklace back on her neck. She walked to her small closet, and pulled out a pair of jeans, a shirt, and a hoodie that read "I Love NYC". She slid them on. Taking a hair tie from her wrist, she pulled her hair back into a simple ponytail. Before leaving, she looked at her face in the mirror. No longer were the eyes filled with joy and excitement. They had been replaced with terror and sorrow. Just one of the many "scars" that several months in this place had given her. She left her room and headed upstairs to the dining room. She glanced at the barred windows, and turned away. She took her seat at the table, the first one there. She sighed.

Slowly, the others walked in. Erika, Zack, Cody, and Carey. Each took their seat at the table. Suddenly, Chris and Bonnie walked in with the dishes of food. Fake smiles crossed Erika, Lisa, Cody, Zack, and Carey's faces.

"Good morning," said Chris, taking his seat. Bonnie took her seat as well. Everyone responded with a sigh of fake happiness.

After breakfast, Lisa headed down to the basement, while the others remained upstairs. She headed straight for the bathroom. About 2 minutes later, she emerged. Opening the door to her room, she stepped inside, and quickly closed the door behind her. She flicked on her light, and walked over to the scale that was in front of her mirror. She looked at the weight and nodded in satisfaction. Lifting up her shirt, she stared at her stomach in the mirror. You could easily see the ribs. She had lost a considerable amount of weight since she had arrived. She had been too scared and too hopeless to eat for a while. For a few months, she ate next to nothing. She didn't want to eat much after Zack's little incident. Chris had noticed Zack putting on a considerable about of weight, and he severely punished and beaten Zack. He locked him in a room for 3 days and fed him only two meals a day consisting of nothing but bread and water. There were then stricter eating rules laid down. Lisa was afraid to eat after watching Chris do that to Zack. Then, Chris noticed that she wasn't eating much. Chris screamed at her and forced her to eat two helping of everything that was on her plate for three weeks. He threatened to kill her if she didn't eat properly. After that, she became bulimic. This way, Chris saw her eating, but she wouldn't get yelled at for putting on too many pounds. Her thin waist and even paler complection were yet another "scar" this dreadful place had given her. She, of course, was the only one who knew she was bulimic.

Erika opened the door to her bedroom, and quietly stepped in. Over the years, she had learned to be very quiet each time she moved. She went to a dresser on the opposite side of the bedroom. Yanking open of the drawers, she pulled out a pair of jeans with butterflies sewn on the pockets. She opened another drawer and pulled out an orange and yellow tie-dyed shirt. She removed her robe, revealing a tank top and a pair of flannel pajama pants. She opened her bathroom door, and went in to change.

While she was changing, Cody came down the stairs carefully. He took advantage of the fact that the doors in the house were only able to be locked from the outside by keys that Chris kept on his person at all times. Quietly, he opened Erika's door, and walked in. He carefully sat down on her bed, waiting for her to come out of the bathroom.

Suddenly, the door swung open, and Erika, without noticing Cody, walked to her desk and grabbed a necklace. She slid it around her neck, and buried it beneath her shirt. She turned around and jumped the sight of Cody.

"So, Chris said he was leaving soon," said Cody, smiling at Erika.

"Oh my goodness! You scared me!" said Erika, starting to head towards him. A smile crossed her face. She sat down on the bed next to him.

"I hope you don't mind, the door was open, " he said, gesturing to the door. Erika leaned over and kissed him on the cheek.

"Now why would I mind?" said Erika, getting up and heading back to her dresser to comb her hair. Cody just smiled.

"Do you think we should, at least, tell our siblings about us?" asked Cody.

"But what if they slip to Chris? I don't want to even think about what he'd do to us."

"I thought you trusted your sister with your life, and I certainly trust my brother with mine" said Cody.

"I do, but.."

"But what?" asked Cody, giving her a puzzled look.

"I don't know. Can we wait a while, please?" she asked, walking back over, sitting down next to him, and reaching for his hand.

"I suppose" said Cody smiling, taking her hand, and leading her out of her room and upstairs.

Zack came downstairs and into his room. He pulled an old, worn pillow out of one of his dresser drawers. He began to violently punch it. Harder, and harder, and harder he punched the pillow until his fists were red. He pounded and pounded. Finally, he stopped and threw himself back on his bed, as his sobs violently shook him. Too much had happened since they had left. And it was tearing him apart.

_Thank you for reading. I hope you enjoyed it. Please review, even if it's an anonymous one. It makes my day, and makes me more encouraged to continue the fanfic. It takes only a few seconds, and would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!_

_www-squeaky-darthplaigus_


	2. Beaten

_DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN ANY ASPECT OF THE SUITE LIFE OF ZACK AND CODY(CHARACTERS, SETTINGS, THOUGHTS, STORY LINES, PLOTS, NAMES, ETC.) !!!!!!!! I DO OWN THE CHARACTERS OF LISA LEONHARD, AND ERIKA LEONHARD, AND BONNIE BOYDZ, AND CHRIS BOYDZ! THANK YOU VERY MUCH!_

_www-squeaky-darthplaigus_

_A/N: Here it is, chapter two. Sorry it's shorter than the first one. But I didn't want to put too much into this chapter, and I wanted to separate some of the happenings more. Thanks so much to all who reviewed my last chapter! If you see "Li" written in some dialogue, it is pronounced Lee, just a nickname that is used by a certain character. Thank you very much! Enjoy!_

_www-squeaky-darthplaigus_

Chapter 2:

_Beaten_

Carey burst into her room, tears flowing down her cheeks. She threw herself back on her bed, and just let the tears flow out. She remembered her shoulder, and quickly grabbed a large bandage out of her top desk drawer. She tore off her jacket and t-shirt, now both with a blood stained shoulder, and tossed them on the floor behind her. She stared at her bleeding shoulder in the mirror. Carey scurried out to the bathroom. Returning with a wet cloth, Carey began to tenderly pat her wound, flinching every time she touched it. Carefully, she placed the bandage on her shoulder. Picking up her jacket and t-shirt, she threw them in the hamper on the other side of the room. She pulled open her closet, and removed a hoodie, which she placed over the tank top that had been under her t-shirt and jacket. She threw herself onto her bed, and tears began to flow once more.

Lisa, who was in her bedroom, heard her and dashed in, sitting down next to Carey on the bed. Carey sat up, and began to cry on Lisa's shoulder. Lisa wrapped her arms around Carey, and began to comfort her. After a few silent moments, Lisa decided to ask what had happened.

"Did he?" asked Lisa. Carey just slowly lifted her head, nodded, and put her head back on Lisa shoulder.

Lisa grew very angry, but continued to comfort Carey. Carey had become a motherly figure for Lisa during the several months they had been here. Lisa clenched her fists. She had been so tired of what Chris had been doing. He had beaten Carey again. It had been the second beating this week, and it was only Wednesday.

"What did he use today?" asked Lisa softly.

A weak voice replied, "A trophy, and then a book."

Lisa sighed. Suddenly, Carey's door swung open. It was Zack. Lisa and Carey looked up at him and froze. Zack looked at the two of them, spotted the bandage on his mother's arm, and bolted for the stairs. Lisa looked at Carey, who nodded, and hurried after Zack to try and stop him. Lisa caught him at the top of the stairs.

"Zack, please don't. You don't know what will happen!" pleaded Lisa, trying to stop him from going to Chris. Zack shoved her out of the way, and headed for the den where Chris was.

Zack flung the door open and stormed inside.

"NEVER BEAT MY MOTHER AGAIN!" Zack screamed in rage. Chris spun around, and launched the book he was holding at Zack. Zack ducked and it hit the wall.

"Do not tell me what I can't do!" said Chris sternly.

"I said, never beat my mother again! If you..." Zack's words were cut short by the book that Chris had picked off the bookshelf, launched at Zack, and hit Zack hard on the shoulder. Zack's hand flew to his shoulder, as pain shot through his arm.

"Who's going to stop me from beating my wife?!?!" said Chris.

"SHE'S NOT _YOUR_ WIFE!" screamed Zack, trying to keep back his tears of pain and hatred.

"YES SHE IS!" screamed Chris, launching another book at Zack, hitting him in the leg. Zack's hand shot to his ankle, and he began to hobble. He leaned back against the wall to gain his balance.

"No she isn't! She was once, but that time has passed! Kurt was her last husband , NOT YOU!" screamed Zack, tears of pain and hatred now streaming down his face. Chris launched a binder. This time, it hit Zack straight in the side of his ribs. He began to sink towards the floor, pain filling his body, and a pain-filled look crossing his face.

"She still is. She lied about divorcing me. She sent for the divorce, but I never signed it. I refused to. 'As long as you both shall live' is the oath we took that day in church, and that was the oath I planned to stick to. That means that until one of us died, we were to be together. She didn't want to honor that oath we took. So what did she do? She left a note saying that she 'had custody' of Bonnie. She NEVER did. We never even set foot in court! So she took my precious little girl away from me! Then she went and changed her name, and got married to that tone deaf, good for nothing rock star! She thought that I wouldn't find her with her 'new life' and she, her crack pot husband, and her other two children would be safe! But she was wrong. I found her. SHE NEVER STOPPED BEING MY WIFE!"

The screaming continued for about a half an hour until Chris nailed Zack with a book right in the stomach knocking the wind out of him. The next one hit Zack in the head and he fell to the floor as everything slowly turned pitch black.

* * *

Zack awoke to a dizzy world. He lay there for a few moments, and waited for his vision to come back into focus. He jumped once it did. Erika and Cody were standing over him, and Lisa and Carey were kneeling next to him. He slowly sat up, feeling a bit light headed. Suddenly, his hand shot to the back of his head, and his body filled with pain. He felt like he'd been hit by a train. He lay back down, and tried to relax. Carey stroked his forehead.

"Where...am I?" asked Zack in a weak voice and wincing in pain.

"Your in my room" said Lisa in her usual soft voice.

"Oh" said Zack. Lisa nodded.

"Mom" said Zack weakly, "I tried to stop him. I really tried, But it didn't work, did it?"

"Sh. Just go back to sleep sweetie" said Carey, stroking his forehead softly. Zack's eyes slowly closed and he was fast asleep. A bell rang.

"That's the dinner bell" said Carey, smiling at her son and getting up. She kissed Zack on the forehead.

"We'd better go up" said Cody starting to head out. Lisa didn't move. Carey and Cody headed upstairs.

"You coming Li?" asked Erika, starting to head out the door.

"Yeah, I'll be up in a minute" said Lisa, staring at Zack.

"Okay" said Erika, heading out the door and up the stairs.

" Sweet dreams" said Lisa, stroking Zack's hand. She kissed him on the cheek, and then headed up stairs.

_Thank you for reading. I hope you enjoyed it. Please review, even if it's an anonymous one. It makes my day, and makes me more encouraged to continue the fanfic. It takes only a few seconds, and would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!_

_www-squeaky-darthplaigus_


	3. A Visitor

_A/N: Okay, so I know...I haven't wwritten in FOREVER. I think I started to get bored with it, and now, I feel like writing again. I suppose I really owe this to Wyntirsno_._ They really reminded me of this story, and how I'd never really finished it, and they made me decide to continue this story, even though it's been quite a while. I hope you all enjoy this chapter, and that the fact I stopped writing didn't turn anyone away. I will continue to write, though my life is quite busy, and so I'm not promising anything like an everyday update, but it won't be a month between each update either. Please enjoy!_

_www-squeaky-darthplaigus_

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN ANY ASPECT OF THE SUITE LIFE OF ZACK AND CODY(CHARACTERS, SETTINGS, THOUGHTS, STORY LINES, PLOTS, NAMES, ETC.) !!!!!!!! I DO OWN THE CHARACTERS OF LISA LEONHARD, AND ERIKA LEONHARD, AND BONNIE BOYDZ, AND CHRIS BOYDZ! THANK YOU VERY MUCH!

_www-squeaky-darthplaigus_

Chapter 3:

_A Visitor_

After Erika had eaten breakfast, Chris made her wash the dishes. She was humming along, when she thought she saw something move behind a tree. She stopped washing for a moment.

"Keep washing!", yelled Chris, "What did you see? Huh?"

"Nothing...just an animal". She started washing again. _Was that a person? Who could make it up here? In the middle of the forest?, _she thought. She shook it off and continued washing the dishes

..................................................................................................................

Lisa knocked on Zack's door.

"Hey, Zack, can I come in?" The door jerked open abruptly.

"What?", said Zack rather rudely.

"Well, umm, I just wanted to see how you were, and..."

"Well, just so you know I'M FINE. You don't have to keep checking up on me just because I'm younger. There's no need to belittle me. I can take care of myself, thanks!" Zack slammed the door in Lisa's face. She just stood there for a second being

cut off in mid-sentence before she sulked back to her room, unsure of why Zack had been so rude. _I just wanted to talk to him. That's all I wanted. Just to talk, _she thought.

..................................................................................................................

Bonnie threw on her jacket.

"Come on, Dad. We've gotta go. I'm gonna be late for the game!", she said, straightening her cheerleading uniform. It read, Valley High School, and had a large tiger head in the center.

"I'm coming", said Chris, tossing on his jacket and shoes. "Ready?" he asked.

"Of course." They both left.

Once the car had pulled out of the driveway and out of sight, Erika rang the bell, signaling to everyone else that Chris and Bonnie had just left. They'd probably be gone for a few hours, assuming that there was a JV and a Varsity game. Lisa came upstairs, hoping to get a chance to be away from everyone. She walked to the living room, passing Erika in the kitchen, and plopped down on the couch, staring blankly at the TV screen that they couldn't turn on. Erika came in. Lisa turned her head down.

"Hey, are you okay?" She could sense something was wrong with Lisa.

"It's nothing."

"Well obviously it's something", she said, sitting down on the couch next to Lisa.

"It's just nothing", Lisa replied in an irritated tone.

"Look, you know you can tell me anything. What's bugging you, Li?" she said, stretching her arm out around Lisa.

"It's nothing!" yelled Lisa, shrugging Erika off, and hurrying back downstairs.

"Li! Wait! What's wrong?" Erika walked back into the kitchen. Standing there at the sink, she saw something again. This time, she actually saw someone walking around. Quickly, Erika jumped back and hid behind the wall, where the girl couldn't see her. She hurried down the hallway, and down the stairs.

"Hey, guys, there's someone outside!"

Cody and Carrey came running out of their rooms right away.

"Who is it?" asked Cody eagerly.

"The police?" asked Carrey, "A lawyer, a ranger, anybody of authority?"

"No, just some girl. But she's just wandering outside of the house, and I think she's checking it out," replied Erika, "Where's Lisa? And Zack?"

"I'm not sure" said Carrey. She headed over to Lisa's door and knocked. "Hey Lisa, I don't know if you heard your sister, but there's someone outside."

"I'm coming right out"she yelled through the door. She came out. Her eyes were slightly red, but she'd done a pretty good job of hiding the fact that she'd been crying. "Is it the police?"

"No" said Cody and Erika in unison.

"It's just some girl" said Cody.

"She seems to be checking out the house" said Erika.

"Oh. Where's Zack?"

"I'll get him," said Carrey, "Zack, come out, honey. We have some interesting news."

"Just go away." he said through the door.

"Zack, I will not 'just go away'. You come out now!"

"Please just go away. Mom, please."

"Okay, but.."

"Mom."

"Alright." Carrey backed away from the door, and looked questioningly at Lisa, Erika, and Cody. They all just shrugged.

"Well, let's go up, and try to see her" suggested Cody, and they all went upstairs. They hid behind the walls, and cautiously peered out of the windows.

The girl had blond hair that had been put into pig tails. She had a blue hat on. Underneath her red vest, was a black turtleneck. She had on jeans, hiking boots, and gloves. On her back, she was carrying a large yellow hiking backpack, and she appeared to be alone. She was standing near the porch, and looking up curiously at this little house with barred windows. Suddenly, Chris pulled up rather unexpectedly. The girl quickly turned, and started to run away, but Chris jumped out of the car and grabbed her, before she even got out of the yard.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?" Chris screamed, as the girl was trying to wrench free of his arms.

"I was just hiking and saw this little house. I was just looking at it, I

swear", she said while trying to wriggle free. Chris picked her up, and started to carry her toward the house. Quickly, Erika, Lisa, Carrey, and Cody dashed downstairs.

"Let me go!" the girl screamed, kicking in the air as Chris took her against her will.

"No. You've seen my house, and now you've gotta stay. Did you tell anyone you'd be out here? Anyone?" he said, kicking open the front door.

"No. I strayed from my original path."She continued to kick and scream.

"Good." he said, seemingly ignoring her kicking and screaming. He dragged her down the stairs, and threw her into an empty room. She continued to scream until he closed the door, and she heard the lock click.

_Thank you for reading. I hope you enjoyed it. Please review, even if it's an anonymous one. It makes my day, and makes me more encouraged to continue the fanfic. It takes only a few seconds, and would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!_

_www-squeaky-darthplaigus_


	4. Some Changes

_A/N: So my school cancelled today, and I've found myself with some extra time. So here's chapter four, I hope you all enjoy it. It's mostly a lot of dialogue, so I hope that doesn't bother some people. Please enjoy!_

_www-squeaky-darthplaigus_

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN ANY ASPECT OF THE SUITE LIFE OF ZACK AND CODY(CHARACTERS, SETTINGS, THOUGHTS, STORY LINES, PLOTS, NAMES, ETC.) !!!!!!!! I DO OWN THE CHARACTERS OF LISA LEONHARD, AND ERIKA LEONHARD, AND BONNIE BOYDZ, AND CHRIS BOYDZ! THANK YOU VERY MUCH!

Chapter 4:

_Some Changes_

Chris called everyone into the living room for some sort of meeting. As soon as everyone had sat down, Chris got up, walked to the center of the room, cleared his throat, and began to speak.

"Yesterday, when I went home to get my camera after dropping Bonnie off for her game, I came home to discover that my niece, Tristan, had shown up at our front door. Her mother passed away when Tristan was just a young girl, and she has been living with her awful father ever since. She came here, hoping to stay with us, and, of course, I opened our home up to her. So everyone needs to welcome her, and make her feel at home. Don't bother asking her about her past, she doesn't really like to talk about it. She's just come here for a new start, and because her father has kicked her out of his home. I know she hasn't left her room just yet, but I think she will soon. Anyways, I figured you all needed to know this, since it was a family matter." Chris smiled, hoping for some reaction.

"Oh, Dad, that was so nice of you to let her stay with us," said Bonnie.

"Yes," chimed everyone else in unison.

"Well, off you go", said Chris, shooing everyone off.

................................................................................................................................................

Tristan heard the lock click, and waited for Chris to enter. He handed her a sheet of paper with a list of rules she had to abide by if she wanted to live. The paper also said that she wasn't allowed to share her past, and if Chris caught her doing so, he would kill her without hesitation. He handed her a pen, made her sign the paper, and then gave her some new clothes he had bought for her. He waited until she had put them in the dresser in her new room and then left, leaving the door unlocked. Tristan waited for a few seconds, and then she left the room. She saw several doors in the hallway, and heard talking coming from behind one of the doors. She walked up to the door and knocked.

"Hello?" The door opened and Cody smiled as he saw Tristan.

"Hey. You must be Tristan. Come on in," said Cody as he pointed her inside his room, "I'm Cody." Erika got up off the floor where she and Cody had been sitting before.

"Hi, I'm Erika. Nice to meet you," she said, stretching out her hand in welcome.

"Tristan" she said, shaking Erika's hand.

"Make yourself at home," said Cody. Tristan sat down on the edge of his bed. There was a long silence. Finally Erika was the first one to speak.

"We all know that Chris kidnapped you and is holding you here hostage. Don't worry, we're all hostages too." Tristan eased at this.

"We?" asked Tristan.

"Well, Cody, Zack, Carrey, Lisa, and I are all Chris's hostages, though I've been here the longest." Tristan still seemed a little nervous.

"Don't worry about telling us stuff. We know not to tell Chris. Believe me." said Cody reassuringly.

"Oh." replied Tristan.

"So, how'd you get here?" Erika asked, sitting down next to Cody on the floor.

"Um...well, I love to hike. And I was out hiking when I saw these tire tracks. I knew that if I followed them, it would mean straying from the path, but I decided to follow them anyway. Well, I followed them for about five and a half miles until I came across this place. I was really curious, and I was hiding behind the trees, but when the car left, I tried to get a closer look. Next thing I know, the car pulls up and I'm being dragged into this house."

"Does anyone know where you went hiking?" asked Cody.

"See, that's the problem. I was supposed to be on a two week camping trip with my friend, but when I went to see her in Wheeling Park, she bailed out. We were going to hike near Pittsburgh, but since she wasn't coming, and I had two weeks to kill, I figured I'd just come down here and hike about a half mile throughout the woods each day, and just go back to the cabin every night. My uncle owns one around here, and he lets my family borrow it."

"Do you have a cell phone?" asked Erika.

"Yes, but it died half way here."

"Oh." Erika and Cody answered in unison.

"Where are you from?" asked Cody.

"I live up in Buffalo, but I'm on vacation. I was going to leave before Christmas, but I decided to wait until the day after."

"You mean Christmas already happened?" asked Erika and Cody in unison.

"Yeah. That was, oh, five days ago. Tomorrow's New Years Eve." Cody and Erika stared at each other in shock. They hadn't been told the date any time they were there. There was a long pause.

"Do you want to meet the others?" asked Erika.

"Sure." said Tristan.

Erika and Cody led Tristan down the hall, and knocked on Carrey's bedroom door, deliberately skipping Zack's because they figured he'd be trouble.

"Who's there?" asked Carrey through the door.

"It's Cody and Erika. We want to you meet Tristan." Carrey quickly opened the door.

"Oh, hello dear. Please come in," urged Carrey, putting her arm around Tristan and leading her into the room.

"Cody and I are going back." said Erika.

"Oh, okay" said Carrey, and the closed the door.

"Cody," said Erika.

"Yeah"

"Well, see, I....I have to tell Lisa about us. I mean, she'll find out eventually, and I think that she'd be mad if I didn't tell her."

"But...." said Cody.

"Look, we can trust her."

"Well..." said Cody hesitantly.

"Yes or no?"

" I suppose."

"Thank you" said Erika with a smile. She dragged Cody along with her to Lisa's door. She knocked.

"Hey, Li, can I come in?"

"Sure." said Lisa. She was looking at herself in the mirror. She turned around when they came in and stared at their clasped hands and smiles.

"Um, well, Cody and I have something to tell you." Lisa nodded.

"Well, I love him,"

"And I really love her."

"So we decided to go out behind Chris's back," they said in unison.

"Just promise you won't tell," pleaded Erika. Lisa just smiled.

"Of course I won't tell." She chuckled a bit.

"What? What's so funny?" asked Cody.

"Nothing. It's just that I never thought you two would be a couple." replied Lisa.

"Do you think, Li, that we should tell Zack?" asked Erika.

"I don't know. I think that'd be fair." The smile had faded from Lisa's face at the mention of Zack. Erika looked worriedly at Cody, who just shrugged.

"Well, we just wanted to tell you." said Cody.

"Mhmm, thanks" said Lisa, who'd turned back to the mirror.

"See ya" said Erika, closing the door behind them.

Lisa just sank down on the bed, buried her face in her hands, and allowed the tears to wet her cheeks.

_Thank you for reading. I hope you enjoyed it. Please review, even if it's an anonymous one. It makes my day, and makes me more encouraged to continue the fanfic. It takes only a few seconds, and would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!_

_www-squeaky-darthplaigus_


	5. The Closet

_A/N: Sorry I haven't written in a while. I know I'm a little behind. My schedule and schoolwork kind of caught up with me, and I didn't really have much time to write. But I have a long weekend with little homework, so I got some time to write obviously. I hope this chapter is an enjoyable one. I'm trying to not move the story along too fast. Please enjoy!_

_www- squeaky-darthplaigus_

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN ANY ASPECT OF THE SUITE LIFE OF ZACK AND CODY(CHARACTERS, SETTINGS, THOUGHTS, STORY LINES, PLOTS, NAMES, ETC.) !!!!!!!! I DO OWN THE CHARACTERS OF LISA LEONHARD, AND ERIKA LEONHARD, AND BONNIE BOYDZ, AND CHRIS BOYDZ! THANK YOU VERY MUCH!

Chapter 5:

_The Closet_

_**Three Weeks Later- 2:00 p.m.**_

The rain trickled down as Lisa stared pointlessly into the window. She rested her head on her hand, and sighed. They hadn't seen the sun in so many days. Some sort of rain-spell had come to the mountains, and it had been raining non-stop for over a week.

"The sun's not going to come out" said Carrey, breaking the trance Lisa seemed to be in.

"Huh...oh, yeah, I know," said Lisa, turning towards Carrey.

"I'm surprised this place hasn't slid down the mountainside by now. You know?", said Carrey chuckling.

"Yeah"

"Lisa," said Carrey, sitting on the couch next to her, "Um. Well...I have a

question."

"Okay, shoot."

"Well, um, are things alright between you and Zack? I mean, well, Erika and Cody were starting to get worried about you. They said they mentioned Zack the other day and you got sort of upset. I just want to make sure that everything's fine and all."

Lisa put on a fake smile. "Of course, everything is fine. I just wasn't feeling very well that day, and I had wanted them to leave so I could get some

rest. How is Zack anyways? I haven't really gotten the chance to talk to

him recently." Lisa looked back down at her feet, regretting the lie she'd just made.

"Oh, I don't know. He wont even talk to me that much. He spends all of his time talking to Tristan," said Carrey, looking rather forlorn.

"Oh"

"Mhhmm. I'm just worried that they're gonna want something more than

a friendship. That's just way too risky in this house."

"Yeah, I agree."

"Well, thanks, Lisa." Carrey got up and left the room. Lisa turned back around to face the window. _Tristan. That figures. The pretty blond who's not from here. _Lisa fell back into her trance. Suddenly, she heard a blood curdling scream from the basement.

_**Zack's Room-1:55 pm**_

"So, did you find a hairpin?" asked Zack, as he eagerly opened the door for Tristan.

"Yeah!"

"Do you think it'll work?" asked Zack, as he let her into the room.

"Should. I've done this before. Remember, you're speaking to the expert here." Zack smiled. Tristan moved past him to the desk, and pulled the desk lamp over so she could see watch she was doing.

"What do you think will be in there?"

"Probably our stuff. At least my stuff. And probably Lisa and your mom's belongings too"said Tristan carefully bending the hair pin.

"How long.."

"Shh," said Tristan, "Okay. There, I got it."

"Come on, let's go" Zack led Tristan out of the room, and down the hallway. They came to the very end. The pushed back a piece of the wall (that was designed for sliding into the other wall) to reveal a locked door. Zack looked at Tristan with an eager expression.

"Okay. Here goes nothing" Tristan slipped the hair pin in the key hole, and twisted it around until she heard a click. They looked at each other, and then Tristan turned the doorknob. They both screamed, and Tristan fell to the floor.

_**Cody's Room-2:00pm**_

A chess board lay across the floor. Erika was white, and Cody was black. The floor surrounding Erika was littered with black chess pieces, the ones that Erika had taken from Cody. Cody cautiously moved his rook forward two spaces. Erika picked up her knight, and moved it across the board.

"Aha! Checkmate!" said Erika, a gleeful look on her face.

"Ugh. It's not fair"

"What's not fair?" asked Erika, putting the pieces back in the box.

"You always win. I demand a rematch"

"How many times will it take for you to accept that I'm better than you at

chess? Honestly" said Erika, folding up the board. Cody got up and crossed his arms, while Erika continued to put away the game. Erika looked up at him and smiled, and he lost his angry look and just smiled back down at her.

"Fine. I suppose you are better at chess" said Cody through gritted teeth.

"Thank you." Erika chuckled, getting up and putting the box away in Cody's closet.

"What do you want to do now?" asked Cody, plopping down on his bed.

"I don't know. There is nothing interesting to look at outside. It's probably still raining. Um....we could go and bug your brother?"

"Yeah, but he probably wouldn't even answer his door. He's probably to busy with Tristan to do much of anything."

"Do you think he.."

"I don't know. But probably. And like every other time, it'll turn out that their 'relationship' didn't work out because she didn't meet his standards" said Cody, still trying to think of something to do.

"We could play hide and seek. Chris said he wouldn't be back until late tonight..."

"Sure, sounds like fun. But, your it, Er," said Cody, heading out the door. But before Cody could even open the door, they heard Zack and Tristan scream, and then somebody or something hit the floor.

Suddenly, Cody tore open the door and rushed down the hall where the sound had come from, quickly followed by Erika, who looked more frightened than Cody. At the end of the hall, they found Cody bent over Tristan who was lying on the floor seemingly unconscious. Erika and Cody looked up at the closet, and both jumped back, grasping on to each other for support. Erika began to hyperventilate.

"Oh my goodness...Oh my goodness...Oh my goodness" she said in between breaths, a look of sheer terror on her face.

"Go and get my mom and Lisa!" said Cody, taking a deep breath to calm himself and then bending down over Tristan with Zack.

Erika rushed down the hall and started up the stairs and met Lisa and Carrey half way down them, looks of concern spreading across their faces.

"What happened?" they asked in unison.

"It's..a....a...just come and look" said Erika, pulling them down the stairs as fast as she could and running down the hallway. When they reached the closet Erika pointed to a skeleton, whose flesh had been completely removed, but it was definitely a real skeleton that had belonged to a real person. At the sight of it, Carrey had screamed. Lisa had taken her attention away from the skeleton, and was instead focused on the unconscious Tristan being attended to by Zack and Cody.

"We should move her," said Lisa, "and then close this up. We don't want Chris to know that we found this. Here, you close it up Cody, it looks like it just slips back into the wall. Here, I'll help move her. We'll take her room." Lisa bent down and helped Zack move Tristan into her room.

Carrey opened the door, and then helped Cody close everything back up_**. **_All Erika could do was simply stand there in complete and utter shock. Lisa stepped out of the room.

"Hey, Er, will you go and make some sandwiches. Chris said he left some stuff on the counter that we can use, since he said he wouldn't be here for lunch. I'm sure Tristan will want something to each when she wakes back up. Not to mention, I think everyone else will need some nourishment after that shock," said Lisa. She stepped back into the room, and closed the door behind her. Erika then went upstairs and headed towards the kitchen.

"I'll go and watch for Chris" said Carrey, heading upstairs.

_I suppose I'll go up and help Erika, _Cody thought, heading upstairs too.

Once Cody had reached the top of the stairs, he headed into the kitchen, where Erika had already started making sandwiches_**.**_

"Hey, can I help?" asked Cody.

"Sure" said Erika, too focused to look up at him. Cody walked over to her and put his arm around her.

"You okay?"

"Yeah. Just....a little shocked"

"I think we all are."

"Who was it?"

"I don't know, but something tells me that Chris was the one who killed the

person." Erika just nodded.

"Do you think he wanted us to find it?" asked Cody.

"What do you mean?"

"Like to teach us not to mess with him?"

"I don't know, Cody, I don't know," answered Erika, getting back to making the sandwiches. Cody joined in.

Lisa stood near the door, watching Zack care over Tristan with an expression that was a mix of pain, disgust, and anger.

"Oh, Tristan, wake up. Just please wake up soon" Zack whispered, kissing her hand and leaning over her.

"She'll be fine you know" said Lisa. Zack looked up.

"I'm serious, she'll just wake up and be just as fine as she was before. It's not like she's in a coma or something. Don't worry about her."

Zack just ignored her, and continued to watch over her. Lisa turned her head to the wall. She didn't want to watch. There was a knock at the door.

"It's just us" said Erika and Cody through the door. Lisa opened the door for them, putting on a fake smile as they carried in four plates with sandwiches on them.

"Thanks," said Zack. Lisa nodded a thank you. Erika handed them their sandwiches and then sat down on the floor where Cody had already sat. They began to eat in silence until Cody said something.

"Do you guys think that maybe Chris left that there intentionally?

"Intentionally?" asked Zack with a puzzled look.

"I mean, to show us not to mess with him?"

"Maybe. It wouldn't surprise me" said Zack, balling up one hand into a tight fist.

"I know he killed that person. He had to." Everyone, except Tristan, just nodded.

"Did you ask what mom thought?" asked Zack.

"Not yet. She's more preoccupied with staying out of this area right now."

"I don't blame her" added Erika. Cody smiled and took her hand. Zack turned back to Tristan, and continued eating his sandwich. Lisa opened the door, left, and shut the door behind her. Erika and Cody listened as she walked down the hall, opened her bedroom door, and slammed it shut. Erika paused and looked worriedly at Cody.

"Go talk to her. She's your sister. She probably needs you, but is too afraid to tell you," said Cody, taking a bite of his sandwich as Erika left. After a few moments of silence, Cody spoke.

"You care for her, don't you?" Cody asked. Zack just turned around.

"I do. I really think I do." he said, then he turned back around to Tristan. And Cody realized that there might be another couple in the house soon.

_Thank you for reading. I hope you enjoyed it. Please review, even if it's an anonymous one. It makes my day, and makes me more encouraged to continue the fanfic. It takes only a few seconds, and would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!_

_www-squeaky-darthplaigus_


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